Looking through all the new shows and movies on Paramount Plus this month, a name jumped out at me: "Layer Cake."
Now, that title might not be familiar to you. The 2004 crime thriller made a whopping $11.8 million at the box office. But it features a lot of names you're probably familiar with.
It stars Daniel Craig, pre-James Bond, as a cocaine dealer who hates violence and just wants out of the game. One of his associates? A young Tom Hardy.
There's also Michael Gambon, who you probably know best as Albus Dumbledore from the third through eighth "Harry Potter" films, but in this movie is a ruthless crime lord. And it's all directed by Matthew Vaughn, doing his best Guy Ritchie impression before he'd go on to make "Kick-Ass" and "Kingsman: The Secret Service."
So if you're looking for something to watch after the epic "MobLand" finale or just need a great movie to watch this weekend, here's why you need to check out "Layer Cake on Paramount Plus.
What is 'Layer Cake' about?
As I already mentioned, "Layer Cake" stars Daniel Craig as XXXX, a successful cocaine dealer who wants out of the coke business and to retire to a quite life.
There's just one problem: his boss. XXXX works for Jimmy Price (Kenneth Cranham), who needs some things done before our lead can enjoy some peace and quiet.
First, Jimmy needs our otherwise unnamed protagonist to find Charlie (Nathalie Lunghi), a drug-addicted runaway with a connected father. He also needs a drug deal completed with the Duke (Jamie Foreman), who is offering up $1 million in ecstasy tablets to Jimmy.
Of course, none of this goes to plan, and now XXXX is having to navigate the layers of London's criminal underworld to get the job done and get out.
'Layer Cake' may be my favorite Daniel Craig performance — and that's saying something
Daniel Craig has many iconic performances under his belt at this point. The handsome and deadly James Bond, the brilliant detective Benoit Blanc and a dancing diva in Taika Waititi's Belvedere vodka advertisement, just to name a few.
But his performance in "Layer Cake" might be my favorite of them all. It's a perfect blend of wit and being cool under pressure.
In many ways, it's similar to the performance he'd later give in 2006 in "Casino Royale." His performance in "Layer Cake" is sometimes even cited as why he was cast as James Bond in 2005, though others say EON Productions had their eyes on Craig as early as 1996.
Still, the performance in "Layer Cake" is slightly more grounded than the one Craig gives in his first Bond movie, and not quite as bleak as the one he gives in "Quantum of Solace." It lacks the cockiness of Bond, while still making sure the audience knows Craig is the smartest man in the room.
Yes, others in this movie are well worth watching — Gambon is particularly excellent, and Hardy, Sienna Miller, Colm Meany and George Harris are plenty good — but it's still Craig who steals the movie from the beginning and never lets go.
"Layer Cake" is also, simply put, a great crime thriller. If you like Guy Ritchie movies or Matthew Vaughn's other work, then you'll easily find yourself enjoying it. And it has a killer soundtrack that's almost worth the price of admission on its own. There's no reason not to check it out now that it's available to stream on Paramount Plus.
Stream "Layer Cake" now on Paramount Plus
Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.
Here's what he's been watching lately:
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